LITERATURE

William Black's Poem and Heroism in Epic Works (Odyssey

Paradise Lost)

William Black's Poem and Heroism in Epic Works

William Blake, "Chimney Sweep" offers a graphic representation of particular cultural aspect of England in the 1790-ies. Considering my interaction with the poem, I try to analyze and contrast my own belief system about what is presented in the text.

Blake's poem was originally very bright for me. When reading the first verse, I was shocked and horrified by the images presented by the young narrator. I had to cry for the poor boy, and then angry at his father for placing him in such a situation. The second and third stanzas, I sympathized with the "little Tom Darce, and imagine how scared he must have been because of his nightmare, he seemed in dire need of care and love, both of which I wished I could give him. Shooting in the fourth and fifth paragraphs struck me as bright, beautiful and very innocent, thereby causing wish that all the boys could live in such beautiful surroundings. My reaction to the final stanza was a sense of disaster; boys no hope, but there were forced to perform a task that will eventually kill them. After reading the poem left me with a few impressions in my head. The young and innocent image of the narrator seemed to have a strong influence on my emotional reaction to the poem. I was left with a feeling of helplessness and despair that I was not able to help the boys out of his depression, and because I have some knowledge about this period of history and culture, I know that the events described in the poem did take place, and thus the poem becomes more emotionally moving. This system of values of people in England in 1790-ies, which comes into sharp opposition from their own, especially in matters that are related to a way that children should be treated, these people are, in fact condemn their children to death, so that they could live. Attention is called to the notion of the poem against domination: a description of the poem is consistent with England in the 1790's, but it is against the dominant social today with North American standards.

Some elements in the text have an impact on the reading of the text. Theme of the poem, the children who are sold to die pipe cleaning, produces a negative emotional reaction, there are powerful metaphors are used, such as: "all of them lock'd in coffins of black" that cause the emotions surrounding his previous experiences with death and coffins, the poem also uses striking images, such as the image of a boy in the first stanza. My personal literary and shared repertoire is also key to my interaction with the poem. The main element in my personal literary repertoire, which refers to this poem, is the story of Mary Poppins, which provides my positive view of "sweeps" faced by the poem. Items in my general repertoire of which conflict with ...